Because why would I focus on the stories I've updated recently and not something I haven't touched in years? Warning: Lemon ahead, or is it a lime? I never did find out the difference. Anywho, there's a sex scene at the beginning. Enjoy, or skip to the next line if you'd rather avoid.
Sakura's eyes flitted open when she felt her lover move. The two were sleeping in her room. He came over so often now that she had had to upgrade her bed to a larger one, not that she minded. She loved when he came over, it made her home feel much more full. It also made her abode much cleaner, as he spent his time tidying it up when he arrived at it before her. If he wasn't a ninja Neji would make a wonderful house husband. One of the many things she loved about him.
"Happy birthday," she said to him in a whisper, turning to face him and placing a light kiss on his cheek. It was still dark outside, the sun just beginning to show hints of its rise. He emitted a small sigh of contentment at her gesture before beginning to shift to get up. She quickly put an arm around him to stop him. He raised one groggy eyebrow in response to her action. "Not yet," she said softly.
"I thought this was my birthday," he said with an amused tone.
"It is," she said as she purposefully snuggled closer to him. "But you'll enjoy this, you get up too early all the time anyway." He really did, heck all of his team did (even Tenten, who often complained that because of her teammates she couldn't sleep in even if she wanted too anymore, as her body was too used to getting up at insane hours). It was routine at this point for them to go to bed together and for her to wake up alone. Now was a good a time as ever to try and break him of his habit.
For a moment it seemed like he was going to protest and get up anyway, but then he settled back down with her.
She didn't know how long they lied there together, but it was pure bliss. Sakura was warm and content, thinking of nothing but how good and right it felt to be lying there with him. By his body language, he was thinking the same thing. She wanted nothing more than to stay there with him forever. Some people still questioned their compatibility, with his calm demeanor (some questioned whether he had emotions at all) and her fiery temper. But in moments like this to her there was no question, they were exactly what the other needed.
A glimmer of light straight into her eyeballs eventually stopped her cuddle time. She frowned, knowing that despite his birthday, Neji and his team were still planning on training early today. They were workaholics, all four of them. Almost as if in response to her thoughts, Nej started to drop the arm that had been around her waist and pressed what she assumed was a goodbye kiss on her temple. She stifled a sigh, mentally preparing herself for their time in her bed to end.
Then she shifted against him for a moment and felt a certain body part of his twitch. Hmm, maybe she could convince him to leave a little later after all. She hid a little smirk and shifted as innocently as she could against him again. He groaned and tightened his grip on her. "If you keep doing that you're going to have to deal with it," he warned her, eyes opened a sliver.
"Will I?" Sakura asked. Her hand crept down until she found said body part. It helped that they were already naked from last night's lovemaking. His eyes closed and his breath left him as she massaged it. The best-well, one of the best- parts about sex with Neji was watching the cracks form in his guard until it finally came down and he showed her emotions and expressions that he hid from everyone else. When he lost the control that he was so used to having.
"S-Sakura I-" he started to say, probably noticing now just how much light was trickling into the room, his voice trailed off as her fingers danced around his member. Ino had talked to her before about how being the seducer was fun, and was often better than the reverse. At the time Sakura had rolled her eyes, and had turned a little red, not nearly as comfortable with talking about her sex life to her friends as Ino was (honestly she felt bad for the blonde's lovers sometimes the way that Ino would report on them later). Sakura liked being the one sought after, the one who was ravished by another. She still did, but after she had gotten together with Neji she had to admit that her friend had had a point.
His hands clenched the bed sheets as her own went up and down his shaft in strokes. "Yes?" she said teasingly, taking pleasure in how he was breathing in and out heavily instead of answering. How his toned chest was rising and falling. The idea of Lee coming to her humble abode to retrieve his training partner flashed in her mind, but Tenten would know that Sakura and Neji would probably want some alone time together and keep her team in check. She made a mental note to get the brunette a new kunai set later.
Just as she thought that she had him, he reached out a hand to stop her. "Need to go soon," he forced out. "Later."
Later was too far away, in her opinion. If plan A wasn't working, she would simply change tactics. She allowed his hand to take hers away, but then quickly shifted downward and kicked off the sheet so she had better access to him. Before he fully comprehended what she was doing and could stop her, her mouth quickly covered his member. When his head fell backward and he let out a loud groan, she knew she had him.
Despite what some men she knew claimed, she didn't know of a woman that received physical pleasure from giving a blow job. In her mind, the enjoyment came from the pleasure she gave him. The way his lean body tensed and his toes curled was extremely erotic to her and all the encouragement she needed. She took him far into her mouth and flitted her tongue against him. The sounds he emitted were music to her ears as she continued to suck against him.
Just as his body tensed and she sensed that he was close to finishing he reached out and put his hand in her hair, lightly using his grip to force her head up. She looked at him in confusion, he had never stopped her when they were this far before. Did he really want to go train that badly? When he was mere moments away from completion? His eyes were darkened and glazed over as he said, "Not yet." He grabbed her and hoisted her up so that she was at her side. "Ready yourself," he said in a husky tone that made her insides twist.
Her face reddened as she realised what he meant. She had never pleasured herself in front of him, or anymore really, before. Suddenly she felt quite self conscious. The fact that he propped himself on one elbow and stared at her with a mix of lust and mischief didn't help. If the pose didn't offer such a delicious view of his toned biceps and torso, and if his unbound hair hadn't fallen perfectly around his face and bed she would have said no and quickly left the bed. Despite the blatant arrogance in his gaze and slight smirk as he waited, she didn't say no to him. It was his birthday...
"You owe me," she murmured slightly as her fingertips trailed down to find her clitoris. Wasn't part of the point of a partner to avoid having to do this to yourself? She would have turned around if he didn't have that clan ability of his. Slowly she started to rub the sensitive bundle of nerves. At first, unnerved by his gaze, she touched it too roughly to feel any pleasure from it. But then slowly, with a few breaths she relaxed her grip. Then her breath began to quicken as she felt waves of pleasure from her own fingers. Her chest moved up and down as her breath picked up, and his gaze dropped to follow her breasts as they moved. She experimentally added a touch of healing chakra to her fingers and immediately decided it was a good idea as the warm chakra added somehow even more euphoria to her body. Her teeth closed over her bottom lip as she moaned, close to her own release. Unlike with his own release, he allowed her orgasm to happen. A loud and satisfied moan escaped her lips as her muscles contracted and her back arched.
Once she was done he shifted so quickly he was a blur and she found herself underneath him, straddling her so their genitals were intimately aligned. Ah, so this had been his plan. She wasn't going to let it continue just how he was thinking though. Just as he was positioning himself, she flipped them so she was mounting him. She pressed a finger to his lips as he began to open them. "It is your birthday after all," she said in a deep tone, using his words from before. Then with a hand she positioned his penis inside her and she began to move.
Her hands were at either side of his head as she moved against him. She enjoyed the view of his handsome features in utter satisfaction and euphoria, and he seemed to enjoy the view she provided him. His hands found where the sides of her legs met her waist and he dug into them as they breathed in tandem together. "Faster," he breathed out, she quickly obliged. A moan left her lips as with one thrust she managed to hit her g spot perfectly. His hands were now everywhere from her back to her buttocks as she continued. Finally, her head jerked back as she orgasmed yet again, with more force than the first time. He was soon to follow, as the walls of her vagina clenched against him. His semen released into her and she mentally thanked herself again for taking birth control pills. Unable to keep herself upright anymore, she collapsed into him and his arms quickly wrapped around her.
For a minute they stayed that way as they came down from their collective high. Then Neji sat up, which from their position caused her to sit up as well, and kissed her forehead. "Now that you have made me sufficiently late, I must get going," he said, though there was no actual annoyance in his tone.
"I didn't hear you complaining," she said, stepping off of him.
A chuckle escaped him as he stepped off her bed and grabbed his clothes before walking to her shower. Typically she liked to wash up first but given the day she let him use her precious hot water first. She heard him turn on the tap and she moved to get off the bed herself. Sakura had no intention of joining him, shower sex was nowhere near as enjoyable as it sounded. Once she was off she noticed the sticky spots on her sheets from their lovemaking. Drat, this was her last set of clean sheets, too! And she couldn't even blame Neji for initiating it this time. She set about taking them off her bed and dumping them into her already nearly full bin. Apparently today was laundry day.
Just as she had taken them to her washing machine, turned it on, and returned Neji was out of the shower, and fully dressed, not one for wasting time. His damp hair was the only sign he had just been washing himself. Deliberately only looking at her head to avoid second thoughts of staying behind, he said, "I'll come by at around 5pm, wear something nice."
"You still haven't told me where we're going," she said pointedly.
"That's true," he said, "You'll just have to wait and see." With that, he departed from her apartment, locking the door behind her.
She wondered where he intended on taking her as she turned on the shower for herself. Before when she had asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he had merely said that he didn't want an item, but rather wanted to go on an outing with her. Given the time of day he wanted to meet, she assumed it was for some sort of dinner. She prayed that it was at a restaurant, and not at his clan's residence. She had never been there before, at least not as Neji's partner. The thought intimidated her. Unless it was Ino's clan residence, which was so lax it didn't feel like it belonged to a clan, the complexes always made her feel really small. Her own parents were forever chunins, which to some clans people meant that they may as well be civilians. She had grown up in a moderate house with jovial parents. While they could be strict sometimes, she was exempted from the responsibilities that came with being part of a clan. This was foreign territory to her, and she didn't like the unknown.
Those thoughts plagued her while she did her shift at the hospital, which was thankfully shortened thanks to a colleague taking up the rest of it, and when she was in the market. She walked around stalls in the vain hope that shopping could take her worries off of her mind. It didn't work. "Sakura!" Ino said cheerfully as she changed her route to walk towards her friend. "Where's Neji? Did the workaholic not take the day off for his birthday?" She stopped and frowned when she saw her friend's gloomy and slightly fearful expression. "Is everything okay?"
"Ino," Sakura said worriedly. She glanced around then lifted her head to Ino's ear, you never knew what preying eyes and ears were in the markets. "I think Neji's going to introduce me to his clan tonight."
Ino would have teased her about finally taking the plunge if the girl hadn't looked so nervous about it. The look in the pinkette's eyes made Ino sigh. "Sakura, it probably won't be that bad," Ino told her.
Sakura's eyebrows rose. "Ino," she said, still keeping her voice quiet. "It's Hiashi."
Ino was going to counter that, but then remembered her own interactions with the stoic and pompous clan head. "You might have a small point," Ino admitted. She quickly decided to cancel her plans for the afternoon to prepare her best friend. "Come on," Ino grabbed Sakura's arm. "Let's plan this out."
Back at Sakura's home, the blonde looked through Sakura's clothes before selecting the most formal looking kimono that Sakura owned. "No wrinkles, good," Ino said before instructing Sakura to put it on. Then Ino without warning grabbed Sakura's hair and began securing it in a bun. "The Hyuugas like to think of themselves as the most powerful clan in the villages, especially with the Uchihas gone," Ino explained. Sakura already knew this, but refrained from saying anything because she knew Ino wanted to help. "So if you want to get in their good graces, compliment the hell out of them. Act like they're an authority figure. Oh, and bring up your connection with Tsunade, they might like that." Ino stopped to frown. "If they're on good terms that is, if not maybe don't mention it. And definitely don't bring up your old crush on Sasuke. Now for makeup."
Sakura didn't have the heart to tell Ino she was just making her nerves worse as Ino applied light makeup to her face, explaining how the Hyuugas' preferred formality and grace and just general old fashioned-ness over anything "actually fashionable." When Sakura had a light blush, lipstick, and just a hint of mascara, Ino looked at her handiwork and smiled. "You're going to do awesome and make that old bag fawn over you." Sakura forced out a small smile that seemed to fool her friend well enough. "There you go, tell me about it after."
"Thank you for your help," Sakura told Ino as she went towards the door.
"Not a problem," Ino opened the door and stopped before heading out. "And Sakura, no matter what happens Neji loves you. That's plain as day to anyone who sees the two of you together. He'll have your back."
That gave Sakura more comfort than anything else Ino had said. She thanked the blonde then sat on her couch staring up at the ceiling. As comforting as that last statement was, doubt soon came creeping back into her thoughts. She wasn't from a clan, she was the weakest member of Team 7, she was a nobody. Oh, this was going to be so bad. Maybe she could come up with some excuse. She was sick, the hospital was burning down, she was pregnant. Okay maybe not that last one, then she'd definitely have to meet his family.
Just when she felt like she was about to come upon a good reason to skip the door opened and Neji, now clad in formal attire, walked in. He noted her outfit and smiled approvingly. "Are you ready?"
She was almost too nervous to nod. "Where are we going?" She asked, holding out a small amount of hope that he was going to say anywhere in the world except his clan. Heck, she would take a last minute mission to Mist at this point.
"I think it time for you to meet my family," Neji said with a smile, holding out a hand for her to take.
It took absolutely everything in Sakura to not run out of her window. There it was, she would have to meet his clan. She forced a smile. "Great." She gripped the couch to hoist herself up but couldn't find the strength in her to do so.
Neji frowned, detecting her lie immediately. His hand dropped. "What is it?" He asked, with a hint of defensiveness in his tone. His white eyes were narrowed slightly.
Worried that she had accidentally offended him, she quickly said. "It's nothing against you, or them really." Her eyes dropped. "I just...they're going to hate me. I'm nothing compared to them." Her hands gripped her kimono, the fabric suddenly feeling very heavy on her skin.
In less than a moment he was in front of her, raising her chin with his fingers. His lips met hers in a comforting kiss. "Sakura, you are the most intelligent, strong, beautiful woman I have ever met," he said, not taking his eyes off her for a second. "Only a fool wouldn't see the same." He offered his hand again and she took it. "Now let's go."
They held hands their entire trip to his clan's home. She remembered how much people stared the first time they showed their relationship in public, now people hardly noticed except to whisper to each other about where the couple must be going dressed so nice. Neji's words to her brought her warmth and comfort when she had first left the apartment. But the closer they got to the residence the tighter she had to hold onto his hand. It was a good thing she loved him.
The Hyuga complex was large and intimidating. The buildings were large, traditional, and no nonsense, just like the clan's reputation. It contained multiple buildings, with the residence of the head of the clan symbolically in the center. All of the yards were primp and proper, not a blade of grass out of place.
Sakura had never felt so tiny in her life.
Sensing his lover's fear, Neji squeezed her hand. "You'll do fine," he assured her. She swallowed and followed his lead inside. A part of her had hoped that if she hadn't said anything Neji would have skipped the traditional introduction to the clan head. But that was quickly dashed when he went straight for the building. The door opened after two knocks from Neji and the esteemed Hiashi stepped out. His long robes were clean and wrinkle-free and his long dark hair was smooth.
This wasn't the first time she had met Hiashi, but it was the first time where she felt like she had something to prove, where he was actively going to judge her. Neji offered a formal bow, which Sakura was quick to copy. "Hyuuga-sama," Sakura said, trying her best to keep her nerves out of her voice. "It's nice to mee-see you." She cursed herself for how she slipped up already.
"Thank you for seeing us, Hiashi-sama," Neji said smoothly.
If Hiashi noticed Sakura's mistake, which there was no chance he hadn't, he didn't show it. "Come in," he said, moving to the side to let them in. So this wasn't just going to be a quick greeting. You're the Hokage's apprentice, she reminded herself as she walked in. The entrance to his home was simple and formal, with some couches, paintings, and a table in the middle of the room. There was not a hint of dust or disarray, dirt was probably too scared to enter. "Sit," he instructed them.
They sat on one of his couches, Sakura resisting her typical instinct to cross her legs. Instead, she kept them still and put her hands on her lap. "You have a very nice home," she said.
Hiashi nodded, "I do indeed, Sakura-san. Tell me about yourself."
What exactly should she tell him? What didn't he know already? "Well, when I'm not on missions I sometimes work at the hospital." Which he already knew, the first time she met him in person was when she was up to her elbows in one of his clan member's innards. "I help run it when Shizune is busy or away." There, that sounded important.
"That sounds challenging," he observed, she couldn't read him well enough to see if he was impressed or not.
She nodded, "It can be, but that's what makes it worth doing." Pride crept into her voice. "Some of the shifts can be hard, but there's nothing more rewarding than finding out what's wrong with someone when other's can't figure it out, or healing someone who was thought to be too hurt to save."
"Our Hokage must have made the right choice in apprentices then," Hiashi commented.
"She has," Neji spoke up for the first time since they entered the building. "Sakura is a source of pride for the village." Sakura had to fight back the heat that rose to her cheeks.
"And apparently so has Neji-san," Hiashi said with a smile. That smile made some of the tension in Sakura's shoulders evaporate. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Thank you," Sakura said. "My parents love him. They said they would take him as an adopted son if we were to ever break up." Was that appropriate to say to a clan head?
Before she had time to debate if she should have kept that to herself Hiashi chuckled a little. "And just how are your parents?"
"Good, they're excited." Sakura explained, letting her hands sit a little looser on her lap. "They're going to be proctors at this round of chunin exams." They wouldn't be in any top positions, those went to junin, but they would still play a role in setting up the tests and observing the young ninja. Typically doing routine duties such as carrying for the messenger hawks, the two could not stop talking about how excited they were for the new challenge. Her mother was already preparing the advice she was planning to give the genin.
"I'm glad to hear that," Hiashi said. "Fresh eyes is always a good thing. Are there any genin that you have your eyes on?"
She didn't want to tell him that she was usually so busy she didn't have time to look too closely at the new recruits. "Konoharmaru and his team definitely have the drive to succeed," she said, not surprising given who Konoharmaru's idol was.
He nodded. "That they do, we shall see if they have the skills to go with it."
They continued to talk for a while on the new ninja, with Neji interjecting once in a while with his opinion. Once their conversation drew to a close it was clear to Sakura that Hiashi, while still quite formal, was warmer and kinder than she initially expected him to be. She would have to ask Neji about that later, as she suspected he had something to do with that. Once Hiashi shut the door behind them Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "That was nicer than I thought it would be." All of her previous fear was gone. Now she would feel alright once she encountered the clan leader again. Feeling rather accomplished, she started to move in the direction of the exit.
"I'm glad you think so, because we're not done," with his hand around her waist, he directed her towards a different section of the area.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked suspiciously.
There was just a hint of malevolent glee in Neji's voice when he said, "Now you meet my mother."
Her fear was back.
This encounter was nerve wracking in a different way. Neji had always described his mother as polite and loving. While if Hiashi had been as harsh and intimidating as his reputation, at least she would only have to see him once in a while. Their conversations would be brief. This was his mother. If she disapproved of Sakura the rest of their relationship would be difficult. What if she hated Sakura so much she forbade her from continuing to see her son? Suddenly Sakura's stomach was in knots.
Unlike with Hiashi, Neji's mother opened the door before either person could knock. "Welcome," she said in a tone that was pleasant enough. "Come in," she added before Sakura could say a hello.
Neji's mother had traditional Hyuuga traits with tied back black hair and pale eyes. If she and Neji had children would they look the same way? Sakura began to think about dominant and recessive traits before she remembered where she was and bowed. "Thank you for inviting us to your home," she said before she walked in. Neji trailed in soon after.
The home looked to be almost a carbon copy of Hiashi's, though slightly smaller. Were they all like this? If she and Neji officially moved in together would she be expected to move in somewhere like this? The thought didn't exactly bring her joy. They all sat down at a table that already had food on it. "This looks delicious, Honoka-san" Sakura said, looking around at the different dishes that were on it.
"I'm glad you think so," Honoka replied. Despite being a member of the branch family, she had quite the commanding aura. They all said the traditional blessing before starting to eat. Once they all had a few bites, Honoka asked, "Sakura-san, how long have you known my Neji?"
Sakura thought for a moment as she chewed. "We went to the same academy class, but we started getting to know each other when we had a mission to Suna together."
"I see," Honoka replied. "And what did you think of my son back then?"
That answer did not come as easily. The truth was that she hadn't noticed him much, all her attention had gone towards Sasuke. When she did notice Neji, she thought of him as closed off and arrogant. Very much like Sasuke come to think of it, no wonder they had had a rivalry going on for a while, probably trying to see who could brood the most. "I thought that he took his academics very seriously," She said, trying to stick to the truth as much as possible. "He was quite reserved back then, I didn't take notice of him too much to be honest."
"That's right, you had quite the affection for the Uchiha," Honoka said, keeping her tone even. "It lasted quite a while if I remember correctly."
"Okasan," Neji said, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I did," Sakura said evenly. "But after he...left, I realised how shallow that affection was, it was puppy love to the extreme."
"So if he stayed around, do you think that "puppy love" would have stayed around?" Honoka said in between sips of her tea, as if she had all the time in the world.
Sakura stiffened a little, this woman was not pulling any punches. "I believe that I would have come to my senses eventually," Sakura said.
"Eventually," Honoka repeated slowly. "I wonder how long that would have taken. We can only speculate."
With every word the older woman said, Sakura felt more and more defensive until finally, she said. "With all due respect, if you're trying to get me to apologise for my feelings in the past it's not going to happen. I was a kid."
The spark from Sakura's tone made Honoka smile a little. "Oh not at all, you misinterpret my intent." She swired her soup with her chopsticks as if she had all the time in the world. "I'm just trying to see whether or not if he returned you would go off gallivanting into his arms."
"Okasan that's enough!" Neji interjected. Neither woman looked his way.
Okay, that was too far, especially considering they just met. Politeness be damned, Sakura said. "Do you interrogate all your guests like this?"
"Only the ones that have my son's heart so firmly," Honoka replied.
"I care deeply about your son," Sakura said firmly. "That's not going to change, no matter who returns or leaves anywhere."
"Good," Honoka said, then her gaze focused on her son for the first time. "Neji, tell me about your birthday so far."
The rest of the conversation was polite and friendly. Honoka even laughed a time or two. By the end of the meal Sakura was feeling more relaxed. At least she did until it was time to say their goodbyes. "See you soon," Neji said to his mother. She gave him a warm smile. "I look forward to it."
"Thank you again for letting me into your home and giving me the pleasure of meeting you," Sakura said.
Honoka offered a polite smile. "The pleasure is all mine."
With that, Neji and Sakura turned to leave, Neji looking quite relaxed and pleased with how the night ended. Sakura felt the same, until she took a look back. Honoka was still staring at them, with a displeased look on her face. Their eyes met and Honoka's eyes narrowed slightly, making Sakura feel like she failed some sort of test. Her heart sunk and she left feeling as small as she had when she had entered the Hyuuga area.
"Thank you again, Sakura," Neji said once they returned to her bed for the day. "I know meeting my clan can be intimidating, but I appreciate you doing it."
"You're welcome," Sakura said, hoping that it would be a long while before it happened again.
Neji reached across her to turn the lamp off. "I know my mom can come off as uncouth, but she is a very caring woman. I'm glad she took a liking to you."
Sakura was suddenly very grateful that it was too dark for Neji to see her grim facial expression as she remembered how Honoka had looked at her as they left. "I'm glad too," she lied.
When I started this I did not expect Neji's mother to be so forward.
To be continued...